Samsung Set To Make Chips For AMD

Michael Moore joined TechWeek Europe in January 2014 as a trainee before graduating to Reporter later that year. He covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to mobile devices, wearable tech, the Internet of Things, and financial technology.

Manufacturing heavyweights to team up on new hardware from next year, report claims

Samsung will begin making chips for AMD from early next year, according to South Korea’s Electronic Times., adding the Californian company to a list of partners which already includes the likes of Apple and Nvidia.

The report claims Samsung’s foundry business and Globalfoundries will begin manufacturing of a central processing chip as well as a graphics processing chip.

Power up

The new hardware will use Samsung’s 14-nanometre technology, meaning it should power a new generation of thinner and more powerful devices.

Samsung will be hoping that the new partnership, if it comes to fruition, will help it revive flagging fortunes over the past few months.

In its most recent set of financial results in July, Samsung warned that its quarterly earnings were likely to miss analysts’ expectations because its flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone, released back in March, failed to reignite the smartphone market.

This was followed by reports claiming that Samsung is reportedly planning to cut as much as 10 percent of staff at its South Korean headquarters, and would also be cutting back on general expenses by 50 percent next year in a pre-emptive move because of the ongoing slump in the smartphone market.

AMD has itself been through a tough few months, and in June was forced to deny rumours it was set to split off parts of its business, including separating the company’s graphics and licensing business from AMD’s x86 server business, which sells processors that power data centres.

These struggles had led to speculation that AMD could be ripe for acquisition, with reports back in March even suggesting Samsung could be interested as it looked to strengthen its chipmaking business.

The rumours follow disappointing financial results, which showed revenues down 17 percent on the previous quarter, alongside an operating loss of $137 million (£90m) and net loss of $180 million (£120m).

The company blamed a ‘challenging PC environment’ for the slump in fortunes, a statement that has also been echoed by its rivals. For example, Intel attributed flat year-on-year revenues on an “uninterested” PC market earlier this year.